Long queues, poor management and logistical issues were some of the complaints that have left a sour taste in the mouths of attendants at Joburg’s annual DStv Delicious Festival.
The event took the entertainment and culinary world by storm in October 2013 when it first debuted and since then it has been a staple member of the Joburg entertainment scene.
Due to a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19 regulations that affected the events industry, this year’s edition that took place on 24 and 25 September was supposed to be even bigger and better than previous festivals. The organisers showed intent by announcing the headlining act to be Nigerian superstar Burna Boy AKA “African Giant” who recently won a Grammy Award at this year’s awards ceremony held at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
This resulted in thousands of people flocking to The Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit to catch a glimpse of him performing live after he publicly stated in 2019 that he would never set foot in South Africa.
DStv Delicious Festival organisers alerted festivalgoers early on of fake ticket entries which were causing them delays, not only inside the venue but outside with massive traffic jams caused by frustrated attendees.
Many took to Twitter to voice their concerns about overcrowding, making it hard for them to purchase food, drinks, enter the bathrooms or even move towards their designated areas.
Adding salt to the injury was the frustration caused by the Howler payment plan which had to be loaded before entering the festival for inside purchases. Social media influencer Gabi Mbele took to Twitter and posted: ‘Howler needs to start communicating refunds on money loaded asap… All this panic is making me sad maaan!’.
Festivalgoers who were unable to get refunds after the festival can do so online, said event organisers.
‘What is yours is yours. Visit Howler online and link your card to your account to have the leftover balance transferred to you. Cash outs are only available for 30 days following the event. Cashing out may incur a small fee,’ said Howler according to TimesLive.
DStv event organisers also issued a statement apologising for the experience. Speaking on 702, founder and festival director Lloyd Cornwall said his team did not anticipate ‘the level and velocity of fraud’ through fake tickets on Saturday.
‘We are devastated that people came to Delicious and didn’t get the right experience on Saturday. We are going into a big investigation,’ said Cornwall.
‘The venue was licensed and safe for 20,000 people. The problem was on Saturday there were more than 20,000 people there so that is more cars and massive problems at the turnstiles.’
Pictures: DStv Delicious Festival Twitter Page
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